According to European Council President Donald Tusk, without the protection of the external borders the EU will fail as a political community

BRUSSELS, December 18. /TASS/. The European Union summit had approved the idea of the establishment of a supranational border guard agency, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Friday after the first day of the summit meeting.

According to Tusk, without the protection of the external borders the EU will fail as a political community. But today there is cause for optimism because all the leaders have agreed to protect the external borders. In this connection it has been decided to urgently consider the proposal on the establishment of the border guard agency, he said.

"In my view, the most important discussion today was on the EU's external borders. Not only because I have been advocating external border control from the very beginning of this crisis, but also because without it we will fail as a political community," Tusk said. "And by that I mean potentially more serious consequences than dismantling Schengen. Tonight, we can be a bit more optimistic, because all leaders have agreed to protect Schengen," he said.

"In this context, we agreed to rapidly examine the European Commission's proposal of strengthening the EU's external borders, including the European Border Guard idea. Ministers should adopt their position by July, but the leaders' broad acceptance means that in the future Europe will not remain vulnerable because the Schengen border is insufficiently protected," Tusk said.

According to him, "This evening I have also received good news from Frontex about an agreement with Greece on deploying a Rapid Border Intervention Team already in December. This is yet another indication that we have started to move in the right direction when it comes to the protection of the external border."